The 'Northern Virginia Campaign', also known as the 'Second Bull Run Campaign' or 'Second Manassas Campaign', was a series of battles fought in
Virginia during August and September 1862 in the
Eastern Theater of the
American Civil War.
Confederate General
Robert E. Lee followed up his successes of the
Seven Days Battles in the
Peninsula Campaign by moving north toward
Washington, D.C., and defeating
Maj. Gen. John Pope and his
Army of Virginia.
Concerned that Pope's army would combine forces with Maj. Gen.
George B. McClellan's
Army of the Potomac and overwhelm him, Lee sent Maj. Gen.
Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson north to intercept Pope's advance toward
Gordonsville. The two forces initially clashed at
Cedar Mountain on
August 9, a Confederate victory. Lee determined that McClellan's army on the
Virginia Peninsula was no longer a threat to
Richmond and sent most of the rest of his army, Maj. Gen.
James Longstreet's command, following Jackson. Jackson conducted a wide-ranging maneuver around Pope's right flank, seizing the large supply depot in Pope's rear, at
Manassas Junction, placing his force between Pope and
Washington, D.C. Moving to a very defensible position near the battleground of the 1861
First Battle of Bull Run, Jackson successfully repulsed Union assaults on
August 29 as Lee and Longstreet's command arrived on the battlefield. On
August 30, Pope attacked again, but was surprised to be caught between attacks by Longstreet and Jackson, and was forced to withdraw with heavy losses. The campaign concluded with another flanking maneuver by Jackson, which Pope defeated at the
Battle of Chantilly on
September 1.
Lee's maneuvering of the
Army of Northern Virginia against Pope is considered a military masterpiece. Historian John J. Hennessy wrote that "Lee may have fought cleverer battles, but this was his greatest campaign."
[1]
Background and opposing forces
After the collapse of McClellan's Peninsula Campaign in the Seven Days Battles of June 1862,
President Abraham Lincoln appointed John Pope to command the newly formed Army of Virginia. Pope had achieved some success in the
Western Theater, and Lincoln sought a more aggressive general than McClellan. Pope did not endear himself to his subordinate commanders—all three selected as corps commanders technically outranked him—or to his junior officers, by his boastful orders that implied Eastern soldiers were inferior to their Western counterparts. Some of his enlisted men were encouraged by Pope's aggressive tone.
[2]
The Union Army of Virginia was constituted on
June 26,
1862, from existing departments operating around Virginia, most of which had recently been outmaneuvered in
Jackson's Valley Campaign: Maj. Gen.
John C. Frémont's Mountain Department, Maj. Gen
Irvin McDowell's Department of the Rappahannock, Maj. Gen.
Nathaniel P. Banks's Department of the Shenandoah,
Brig. Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis's brigade from the Military District of Washington, and Brig. Gen
Jacob D. Cox's division from western Virginia. The new army was divided into three corps of 51,000 men, under Maj. Gen.
Franz Sigel, replacing Frémont, who resigned in disgust following Pope's appointment (
I Corps); Banks (
II Corps); and McDowell (
III Corps). Sturgis's Washington troops constituted the Army reserve. Cavalry brigades under
Col. John Beardsley and Brig. Gens.
John P. Hatch and
George D. Bayard were attached directly to the three infantry corps, a lack of centralized control that had negative effects in the campaign. Parts of three corps (
III,
V, and
VI) of McClellan's Army of the Potomac and Maj. Gen.
Ambrose Burnside's
IX Corps (commanded by Maj. Gen.
Jesse L. Reno), eventually joined Pope for combat operations, raising his strength to 77,000.
[3]
On the Confederate side, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was organized into two "wings" or "commands" (the designation of these units as "corps" would not be authorized under Confederate law until November 1862) of about 55,000 men. The "right wing" was commanded by Maj. Gen. James Longstreet, the left by Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson. The Cavalry Division under Maj. Gen.
J.E.B. Stuart was attached to Jackson's wing. The Confederate organization was considerably simpler than the one Lee inherited for the Seven Days and was the result of his removal of a few division commanders whom he considered ineffective and the consolidation of the remaining divisions under Jackson and Longstreet.
[4]
Plans and initial movements
Pope's mission was to fulfill a few objectives: protect Washington and the
Shenandoah Valley, and draw Confederate forces away from McClellan by moving in the direction of Gordonsville.
[5] Pope started on the latter by dispatching cavalry to break the
Virginia Central Railroad connecting Gordonsville,
Charlottesville, and
Lynchburg. The cavalry under Hatch got off to a slow start and found that Stonewall Jackson had already occupied Gordonsville on
July 19 with over 14,000 men. (After a subsequent second failure to cut the railroad on
July 22, Pope removed Hatch from his cavalry command and reassigned him to command an infantry brigade in Brig. Gen.
Rufus King's division of the III Corps.)
[6]
Pope had an additional, broader objective, encouraged by Abraham Lincoln. For the first time, the Union intended to pressure the civilian population of the Confederacy by bringing some of the hardships of war directly to them. Pope issued three general orders on the subject to his army. General Order No. 5 directed the army to "subsist upon the country," reimbursing farmers with vouchers that were payable after the war only to "loyal citizens of the United States." To some soldiers, this became an informal license to pillage and steal. General Orders 7 and 11 dealt with persistent problems of Confederate
guerrillas operating in the Union rear. Pope ordered that any house from which gunfire was aimed at Union troops be burned and the occupants treated as
prisoners of war. Union officers were directed to "arrest all disloyal male citizens within their lines or within their reach." These orders were substantially different from the war philosophy of Pope's colleague McClellan, which undoubtedly caused some of the animosity between the two men during the campaign. Confederate authorities were outraged and Robert E. Lee labeled Pope a "miscreant."
[7]
Based on his experience fighting McClellan in the Seven Days, Robert E. Lee perceived that McClellan was no further threat to him on the Virginia Peninsula, so he felt no compulsion to keep all of his forces in direct defense of Richmond. This allowed him to relocate Jackson to Gordonsville to block Pope and protect the Virginia Central. Lee had larger plans in mind. Since the Union Army was split between McClellan and Pope and they were widely separated, Lee saw an opportunity to destroy Pope before returning his attention to McClellan.
On
July 26, Lee met with cavalry legend and partisan fighter
Capt. John S. Mosby, who had just been exchanged as a prisoner of war. Coming through the
Hampton Roads area in Union custody, Mosby observed significant naval transport activity and deduced that Maj. Gen.
Ambrose Burnside's troops, who had fought in
North Carolina, were being shipped to reinforce Pope. Wanting to take immediate action before those troops were in position, the next day Lee committed Maj. Gen.
A.P. Hill to join Jackson with 12,000 men, while distracting McClellan with artillery bombardments and diversionary movements. McClellan advanced a force from Harrison's Landing to
Malvern Hill, and Lee moved south to meet the threat, but McClellan eventually withdrew his advance. On
August 3, General-in-Chief
Henry W. Halleck directed McClellan to begin his final withdrawal from the Peninsula and to return to Northern Virginia to support Pope. McClellan protested and did not begin his redeployment until
August 14.
[8]
Battles and movements, August 7–27
On
July 29, Pope moved his headquarters from Washington to the field. He was informed by Halleck of the plan to link up with McClellan's army, but rather than waiting for this to occur, he moved some of his forces to a position near Cedar Mountain, from whence he could launch cavalry raids on Gordonsville. Jackson advanced to
Culpeper Court House on
August 7, hoping to attack one of Pope's corps before the rest of the army could be concentrated.
[9]
;
Battle of Cedar Mountain (
August 9,
1862)
: On
August 9, Nathaniel Banks's corps attacked Jackson at Cedar Mountain, gaining an early advantage. Confederate Brig. Gen.
Charles S. Winder was killed and his division mauled. A Confederate counterattack led by Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill drove Banks back across Cedar Creek. Jackson's advance was stopped, however, by the Union division of Brig. Gen.
James B. Ricketts. By now Jackson had learned that Pope's corps were all together, foiling his plan of defeating each in separate actions. He remained in position until
August 12, then withdrew to Gordonsville.
[10]
On
August 13, Lee sent Longstreet to reinforce Jackson, and on the following day Lee sent all of his remaining forces (except for two brigades) after he was certain that McClellan was leaving the Peninsula. Lee arrived at Gordonsville to take command on
August 15. He massed the Army of Northern Virginia south of Clark's Mountain and planned a
turning movement to defeat Pope before McClellan's army could arrive to reinforce it. His plan was to send his cavalry under Stuart, followed by his entire army, north to the
Rapidan River on
August 18, screened from view by Clark's Mountain. Stuart would cross and destroy the railroad bridge at Somerville Ford and then move around Pope's left
flank into the Federal rear, destroying supplies and blocking their possible avenues of retreat. Logistical difficulties and cavalry movement delays caused the plan to be abandoned.
[11]
On
August 20 and
August 21, Pope withdrew to the line of the
Rappahannock River. He was aware of Lee's plan because a Union cavalry raid captured a copy of the written order. Stuart was almost captured during this raid; his cloak and plumed hat did not escape, however, and Stuart retaliated on
August 22 with a raid on Pope's headquarters at Catlett's Station, capturing the Union commander's dress coat. Stuart's raid demonstrated that the Union right flank was vulnerable to a turning movement, although river flooding brought on by heavy rains would make this difficult. It also revealed the plans for reinforcing Pope's army, which would eventually bring it to the strength of 130,000 men, more than twice the size of the Army of Northern Virginia.
[12]
;
Battle of Rappahannock Station I (
August 22 –
August 25)
: The two armies fought a series of minor actions along the Rappahannock River, including Waterloo Bridge, Lee Springs, Freeman's Ford, and Sulphur Springs, resulting in a few hundred casualties.
[13]
Together, these skirmishes kept the attention of both armies along the river. Heavy rains had swollen the river and Lee was unable to force a crossing. Pope considered an attack across the river to strike Lee's right flank, but he was also stymied by the high water. By this time, reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac were arriving from the Peninsula: Maj. Gen.
Samuel P. Heintzelman's
III Corps, Maj. Gen.
Fitz-John Porter's
V Corps, and elements of the
VI Corps under Brig. Gen.
George W. Taylor. Lee's new plan in the face of all these additional forces outnumbering him was to send Jackson and Stuart with half of the army on a flanking march to cut Pope's line of communication, the
Orange & Alexandria Railroad. Pope would be forced to retreat and could be defeated while moving and vulnerable. Jackson departed on
August 25 and reached Salem (present-day
Marshall) that night.
[14]
Union soldiers at the Orange & Alexandria Railroad.
;
Battle of Manassas Station Operations (
August 25 –
August 27)
: On the evening of
August 26, after passing around Pope's right flank via Thoroughfare Gap, Jackson's wing of the army struck the Orange & Alexandria Railroad at
Bristoe Station and before daybreak
August 27 marched to capture and destroy the massive Union supply depot at Manassas Junction. This surprise movement forced Pope into an abrupt retreat from his defensive line along the Rappahannock. On
August 27, Jackson routed a Union brigade near Union Mills (Bull Run Bridge), inflicting several hundred casualties and mortally wounding George Taylor. Maj. Gen.
Richard S. Ewell's Confederate division fought a brisk rearguard action against Maj. Gen.
Joseph Hooker's division at Kettle Run, resulting in about 600 casualties. Ewell held back Union forces until dark. During the night of
August 27 –
August 28, Jackson marched his divisions north to the
First Bull Run (Manassas) battlefield, where he took position behind an unfinished railroad grade.
[15]
Battles and movements, August 28 – September 1
;
Battle of Thoroughfare Gap (
August 28)
: After skirmishing near Chapman's Mill in Thoroughfare Gap, Ricketts's Union division was flanked by a Confederate column passing through Hopewell Gap several miles to the north and by troops securing the high ground at Thoroughfare Gap. Ricketts retired, and Longstreet's wing of the army marched through the gap to join Jackson. This seemingly inconsequential action virtually ensured Pope's defeat during the battles of
August 29 –
August 30 because it allowed the two wings of Lee's army to unite on the Manassas battlefield. Ricketts withdrew via
Gainesville to Manassas Junction.
[16]
;
Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas (
August 28 –
August 30)
[17]
: In order to draw Pope's army into battle, Jackson ordered an attack on a Federal column that was passing across his front on the Warrenton Turnpike on
August 28. The fighting at Brawner's Farm lasted several hours and resulted in a stalemate. Pope became convinced that he had trapped Jackson and concentrated the bulk of his army against him. On
August 29, Pope launched a series of assaults against Jackson's position along the unfinished railroad grade. The attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides. At noon, Longstreet arrived on the field from Thoroughfare Gap and took position on Jackson's right flank.
: On
August 30, Pope renewed his attacks, seemingly unaware that Longstreet was on the field. When massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault by Porter's corps, Longstreet's wing of 28,000 men counterattacked in the largest simultaneous mass assault of the war. The Union left flank was crushed and the army driven back to Bull Run. Only an effective Union rearguard action prevented a replay of the
First Bull Run disaster. Pope's retreat to
Centreville was precipitous, nonetheless. The next day, Lee ordered his army in pursuit. This was the decisive battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign.
[18]
;
Battle of Chantilly (
September 1)
: Making a wide flanking march, Jackson hoped to cut off the Union retreat from Bull Run. On
September 1, beyond Chantilly Plantation on the
Little River Turnpike near
Ox Hill, Jackson sent his divisions against two Union divisions under Maj. Gens.
Philip Kearny and
Isaac Stevens. Confederate attacks were stopped by fierce fighting during a severe thunderstorm. Union generals Stevens and Kearny were both killed. Recognizing that his army was still in danger at
Fairfax Courthouse, Pope ordered the retreat to continue to Washington.
[19]
Aftermath
The Northern Virginia Campaign had been expensive for both sides, although Lee's smaller army spent its resources more carefully. Union casualties were 16,054 (1,724 killed, 8,372 wounded, 5,958 missing/captured) out of about 75,000 engaged, roughly comparable to the losses two months earlier in the Seven Days Battles; Confederate losses were 9,197 (1,481 killed, 7,627 wounded, 89 missing/captured) of 48,500.
The campaign was a triumph for Lee and his two principal subordinates. Military historian John J. Hennessy described it as Lee's greatest campaign, the "happiest marriage of strategy and tactics he would ever attain." He balanced audacious actions with proper caution and chose his subordinates' roles to best effect. Jackson's flank march—54 miles in 36 hours into the rear of the Union Army—was "the boldest maneuver of its kind during the war, and Jackson executed it flawlessly." Longstreet's attack on August 30, "timely, powerful, and swift, would come as close to destroying a Union army as any ever would."[20]
Pope, out-maneuvered by Lee, was virtually besieged in Washington. If it were not for his close political and personal ties to President Lincoln, his military career might have been completely ruined. Instead, he was transferred to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and command of the Army's Department of the Northwest, where he fought the Dakota War of 1862.[21] Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed command of all Union forces around Washington, and his Army of the Potomac absorbed the forces of the Army of Virginia, which was disbanded on September 12, 1862.
With Pope no longer a threat and McClellan reorganizing his command, Lee turned his army west and north on September 4 to cross the Potomac River and invade Maryland, initiating the Maryland Campaign and the battles of Harpers Ferry, South Mountain, and Antietam.[22]
See also
★ Manassas National Battlefield Park
★ Second Bull Run Confederate order of battle
★ Second Bull Run Union order of battle
References
★ Alexander, Edward P., and Gallagher, Gary W. (editor), ''Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander'', University of North Carolina Press, 1989, ISBN 0-8078-4722-4.
★ Editors of Time-Life Books, ''Lee Takes Command: From Seven Days to Second Bull Run'', Time-Life Books, 1984, ISBN 0-8094-4804-1.
★ Eicher, David J., ''The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War'', Simon & Schuster, 2001, ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
★ Esposito, Vincent J., ''West Point Atlas of American Wars'', Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. Reprinted by Henry Holt & Co., 1995, ISBN 0-8050-3391-2.
★ Harsh, Joseph L., ''Confederate Tide Rising: Robert E. Lee and the Making of Southern Strategy, 1861–1862'', Kent State University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-87338-580-2.
★ Hennessy, John J., ''Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas'', University of Oklahoma Press, 1993, ISBN 0-806 1-3187-X.
★ Kennedy, Frances H., ed., ''The Civil War Battlefield Guide'', 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998, ISBN 0-395-74012-6.
★ Langellier, John, ''Second Manassas 1862: Robert E. Lee's Greatest Victory'', Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-84176-230-X.
★ Martin, David G., ''The Second Bull Run Campaign: July-August 1862'', Da Capo Press, 1997, ISBN 0-306-81332-7.
★ Salmon, John S., ''The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide'', Stackpole Books, 2001, ISBN 0-8117-2868-4.
★ Sauers, Richard A., "Second Battle of Bull Run", ''Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History'', Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T., eds., W. W. Norton & Company, 2000, ISBN 0-393-04758-X.
★ Whitehorne, Joseph W. A., ''The Battle of Second Manassas: Self-Guided Tour'', U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1990, .
★ Woodworth, Steven E., and Winkle, Kenneth J., ''Oxford Atlas of the Civil War'', Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-19-522131-1.
★ National Park Service battle descriptions
Notes
1. Hennessy, p. 458.
2. Eicher, p. 318; Martin, pp. 24, 32-33; Hennessy, p. 12.
3. Martin, p. 280; Eicher, p. 318; Hennessy, p. 6.
4. Hennessy, pp. 561-67; Langellier, pp. 90-93.
5. Esposito, Map 54.
6. Esposito, Map 55; Martin, pp. 45-46.
7. Hennessy, pp. 14-21; Martin, pp. 36-37.
8. Hennessy, p. 10; Esposito, Map 56.
9. Esposito, Map 56.
10. NPS Cedar Mountain summary.
11. Hennessy, pp. 35-51; Eicher, p. 322; Esposito, Map 57.
12. Martin, pp. 92, 101-02; Eicher, p. 322; Esposito, Map 57.
13. NPS Rappahannock Station summary.
14. Salmon, pp. 127-28; Eicher, pp. 322-23; Esposito, Map 58.
15. NPS Manassas Station Operations summary.
16. NPS Thoroughfare Gap summary.
17. The National Park Service has established these dates for the battle. The references by Salmon and Kennedy, whose works are closely aligned with the NPS, adopt these dates as well. However, all of the other references to this article specify that the action on August 28 was a prelude to, but separate from, the Second Battle of Bull Run. Some of these authors name the action on August 28 the 'Battle of Groveton' or 'Brawner's Farm'.
18. NPS Second Manassas summary.
19. NPS Chantilly summary.
20. Hennessy, pp. 457-61.
21. Martin, p. 33.
22. Eicher, pp. 336-37.
External links
★ Animated History of The Second Manassas Campaign
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